Berlin Announces Plans for World's Largest Community Electric Car Infrastructure  

TreeHugger has a post on the rollout of support for EVs in Berlin - and notes the tension between the promise of clean transportation and the present day dependence on coal-fired power - Berlin Announces Plans for World's Largest Community Electric Car Infrastructure.

On Friday, Chancellor Angela Merkel gave the green light to an ambitious infrastructure project, launching the world's largest community effort for climate-friendly electric cars. Electricity provider RWE will install 500 power-points, where electric cars can charge up. Daimler AG and Smart are partnering in the project, which aims to have100 electric Smart Cars on the streets of Berlin by the end of 2009.

But the announcement has started a battle of images.

Daimler images show an electric Smart car under a tall windmill, emphasizing the potential for electric autos to run on eco-friendly power. The project is being supported by federal funds due to its value as a model for future eco-friendly infrastructure. Working together, the power company and the auto manufacturer have developed a unique built-in communications system that allows the electric car to automatically activate the billing at the intelligent charging point.

In what may seem an ironic protest by a green organization against an apparently green initiative, Greenpeace's provocative counter-image emphasizes the point that the partnership for electric car infrastructure has not made any promise to deliver electricity only from renewable resources. In fact, Greenpeace argues, running a car on diesel is cleaner than an electric car powered by coal-burning power plants, which do dominate Germany's generation capacities.